It’s barely a week ago that Lenovo released its Google-powered smart display as the first gadget to run Android Things OS, today another Google-powered smart display joins the market. The JBL Link View is currently open for pre-order, with shipments slated September 3, 2018, according to TechCrunch.
Unlike Lenovo’s options for two screen sizes: 8-inch and 10-inch screen display variants, the $249.95 JBL Link View is only available with 8-inch high-definition touch screen and coming with slightly a different design. But the devices are a lot similar in terms of functionality. JBL which is (at least for now) not coming with a 10-inch version has two 10 watts RMS speakers with a rear-facing deep bass producing passive radiator, the traditional Google’s Chromecast protocol for multi-room playback and support for Bluetooth v4.2 with a frequency range around 2402 – 2480MHz, and ≤10dBm (EIRP) transmitter power.
JBL Link View is focused on sound quality
Aside from offering voice commands to control your smart home, manage calendar, search the internet and other growing lists of Google Assistant abilities, JBL’s “legendary sound” is a huge boost to the smart display, raising its competition among smart displays from giant brands including Amazon Echo and Lenovo and. JBL also offers video calls and will allow you to see information when you ask questions or watch videos. For instance, users can watch cooking videos or maps when you ask for such information.
Design and Specification
The oval-shaped JBL Link View measures 332 x 152 x 100mm (W x H x D) and weighs 1.3kg. The screen resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels and the device works with Nest cams and most of other Google products due to its Google Assistant feature. Harman International manufacturer says JBL is splash proof, that’s IPx4 water rating, meaning you can comfortably watch food recipes from YouTube videos in your kitchen, though many think it doesn’t bring the perfect fit offered by Lenovo’s smart display in terms of design. The video chat feature which enables 24 bit HD audio streaming is powered by a 5MP front-facing camera which has a privacy switch that enables you to put off the camera and microphone.
Lenovo, LG, and JBL were among the companies that announced their smart displays with Google Assistant earlier this year at CES 2018. Lenovo and JBL are the only manufacturers that have responded yet, both selling at the same price and JBL beating Lenovo in terms of sound quality. There is no information about LG’s smart display yet. We are also expecting additional Google-powered smart display from Sony.
